TWitM: Jac Caglianone heats up

Plus Spencer Nivens hits more home runs in August than anyone in the minors.

This Week in the Minors is our weekly look at notable performances from all over the system, from big-name prospects and less-heralded guys alike. The mission is to answer this simple question: “Who had a good week?”

This Week in the Minors: Tuesday, August 27 to Sunday, September 1

AAA Omaha Storm Chasers (31-26, 6 GB, International League West, 1st half Division Champs)

The Storm Chasers became the second team in all of minor league baseball to reach 80 overall wins this season. Infielder Cam Devanney enjoyed a 4-for-4 day with three doubles on Saturday, driving in six runs. He was acquired from the Brewers organization in the Taylor Clarke trade last winter and leads the Storm Chasers with 68 RBI.

Nate Eaton went 9-for-23 with three doubles but was also caught stealing twice. Nick Pratto returned to action after being out for a few weeks to go 5-for-14 over the weekend with a stolen base, although his place in the organization seems a bit cloudier after he was passed over for a promotion. Nelson Velázquez has had mixed results in Omaha, but has hit well lately, going 5-for-22 with 6 RBI this week. Drew Waters was 5-for-19 with two steals and three walks. The Royals curiously promoted 20-year-old infielder Stone Russell from the Arizona Complex League all the way to Triple-A, the first non-Arizona action for the 2023 draft pick out of IMG Academy in Florida.

Noah Cameron has flourished since his promotion to Omaha, with Quality Starts in each of his six outings. He had his best start of the year Saturday, striking out 10 St. Paul Saints hitters with no walks, allowing just one run in seven innings, lowering his Triple-A ERA to 1.64. MLB Pipeline ranks the 25-year-old left-hander as the #12 prospect in the organization.

Tyson Guerrero gave up four runs (three earned) with four strikeouts in 4 ²⁄₃ innings in his first start for Omaha after a promotion last week. Noah Murdock has two stellar relief performances, striking out eight hitters with just one walk in four innings, while allowing one run. The 26-year-old right-hander has a 1.56 ERA with 20 strikeouts 17 ¹⁄₃ innings in his last 12 outings. Reliever Andrew Hoffman tossed 5 ¹⁄₃ shutout innings with six strikeouts and no walks.

AA Northwest Arkansas Naturals (27-29, 8.5 GB, Texas League North)

The Naturals have been in a bit of a slide, dropping 11 of their last 16, and falling under .500 for the second half. The slide has been despite a winning streak from Stephen Zobac, who won his sixth consecutive start this week, although he gave up four runs in five innings, while striking out five against Frisco. He improves to 6-2 with a 2.78 ERA in nine games with the Naturals since his promotion.

Brandon Johnson pitched 4 ¹⁄₃ innings of relief with one run allowed and five strikeouts to lower his ERA to 3.04 in Double-A. Keylan Killgore pitched 3 ¹⁄₃ innings of scoreless relief with six strikeouts. Ben Kudrna gave up four runs and four walks with four strikeouts in 5 ¹⁄₃ innings in his only start of the week.

Tyler Tolbert stole three more bases to give him 39 for the year, second most in the Texas League. He went 7-fo-23 with four doubles and five walks for the week. Javier Vaz went 6-for-19 with 8 walks, and is tied for teammate Peyton Wilson for the league lead with 67. He is also third in the league with a .385 on-base percentage and third with a 14.2 percent walk rate. Carter Jensen smacked two triples, part of a 6-for-20 week that included a home run and 7 RBI.

Luca Tresh smacked his 13th home run of the year, part of a 5-for-18 week that included seven walks. Gavin Cross was pulled after one at-bat in his game on Tuesday and has not appeared in a game since.

A+ Quad Cities River Bandits (34-26, 1.5 game lead, Midwest League West)

The Bandits are on a five-game win streak on the road, punctuated by a 15-2 romp on Sunday against Wisconsin. Spencer Nivens continues his hot hitting by going 8-for-26 with two doubles and two homers, giving him a team-high 18 dingers for the River Bandits. He is third in the Midwest League in homers, fourth in slugging percentage, and ninth in OPS, and his 13 home runs in August were the most by any minor leaguer.

First-round pick Jac Caglianone has started to heat up, going 10-for-30 with six doubles and a triple this week. Trevor Werner also bashed two home runs this week, going 7-for-22 with five walks and two steals. Justin Johnson also hit two home runs - one was a grand slam on Thursday - part of an 8-RBI week with 6 walks. Carson Roccaforte drove in 7 with a double and two triples, going 4-for-23 this week.

Frank Mozzicato tossed four shutout innings with four strikeouts, lowering his ERA to 3.59. Henry Williams allowed just one hit in four scoreless innings, and he has a 1.59 ERA in his last six starts. Ethan Bosacker gave up just two runs in five innings with one walk. Andrew Morones pitched four scoreless innings with six strikeouts and two walks in relief. Hunter Patteson tossed three shutout innings, and has now pitched 11 ²⁄₃ consecutive innings without allowing a run.

A Columbia Fireflies (31-28, 6.5 GB, Carolina League South)

The Fireflies scored just 20 runs in seven games this week, although one game was a suspended game from earlier this year. Austin Charles drove home two runs to give him a team-high 60 RBI. He was 5-for-20 on the week with his tenth home run, and two steals to give him 35 for the year. Carter Frederick, a 20th-round pick from Oklahoma this July, is off to a good start in just his second week of pro ball. He went 3-for-16 with five walks, a steal, and 3 RBI and is hitting .294 in 15 games.

First baseman Callan Moss, an undrafted free agent out of St. Leo, a small college in Florida is hitting .326 in 15 games. He went 6-for-17 five walks, a home runs, and two steals this week. Outfielder Erick Torres went 6-for-19 with three RBI and a steal. Former first-round pick Blake Mitchell was promoted to Quad Cities at the end of the week after hitting .238/.376/.439 with 18 home run and 25 steals for Columbia.

Felix Arronde tossed five no-hit innings on Wednesday, and he has a 1.79 ERA in 60 ¹⁄₃ innings over his last 12 starts. Logan Martin allowed just two hits in five scoreless innings with seven strikeouts. Jonatan Bernal also allowed just two hits in five scoreless innings with no walks and he has the sixth-lowest walk rate in the Carolina League. Hiro Wyatt gave up two runs in five innings and has a 2.45 ERA in his first five starts with 25 strikeouts in 22 innings.